


Just My Luck

by HeartxOfxStone



Category: American Gods (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Falling In Love, Lucky Coin, M/M, Madmoon, Worship, mad sweeney's emotional epiphany
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-21
Updated: 2017-08-28
Packaged: 2018-12-18 01:32:04
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,825
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11863857
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HeartxOfxStone/pseuds/HeartxOfxStone
Summary: What if Mad Sweeney picked up his lucky coin after the crash and saw Shadow's light like Laura had?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello internet peeps I hope you enjoy this one. It's something I've had on my mind for a while.   
> Comments give me life and motivation <3

As Mad Sweeney regained consciousness there wasn’t much he could do aside from take in a shuddering breath and begin his attempt at rolling himself free of the passenger seat. The cuffs around his wrists bit into his skin reminding him to figure out a way to ditch them and soon. In a different time they would have been a mere annoyance rather than an actual hindrance. He was trusted by his people, a king in his own right. He worked in exchange for small pieces. It was always the remembrance that had true value. He was once a king, and now he sat nearly crushed on the side of the road.

He blamed the fucking dead wife. There was no other excuse in his mind. If she had just given him his coin back the crash would have never happened and he wouldn’t be feeling like he had fought Shadow Moon for an unsolicited second time. With a groan he lifted himself free, and promptly flattened out on the pavement beside the ice cream truck. Ignoring his streak of bad luck that had just struck again, he took his chances in betting that no cars would be driving down the backwoods road any time soon.

It was a wonder that he had put up with dead wife for so long. Moments had passed during their time together where he seriously considered abandoning the coin in exchange for hunting down the rabbit’s foot he had left hanging on the rearview mirror of a run down ford bronco five years back. It was completely careless, but fuck, the lass that stole the car out from under his nose was worth the search for another lucky item. The moments considering abandon rivaled the moments where he kept himself from telling her to piss right off. 

He made to move on his side, turning his gaze upward in search of his travel companion. She was sprawled out on the ground face up, the staples holding her skin together had flayed apart once again as if the medical examiner had never finished their job. She didn’t move. 

The force of energy it took to get to his feet brought him back to the task at hand, the coin. There was no way he would be clutching at his chest for an extra boost of oxygen if it was still in his possession. If he were to be honest he probably owed the coin a few lives at this point. He would be the first one to admit that if anyone needed it, it was him. 

It was that knowledge that made him think of Shadow. There was no reason for him to give the man anything, and yet he had. Even still, it wasn’t just another item in his collection. There was something about Shadow that knocked him off balance, and it wasn’t just the man’s mean fuckin’ left hook. He blinked, steadying himself, and was met with the brief flash of warm eyes staring back at him. He had crossed paths with more men and women than one could imagine but the crinkle of confusion that peeked in at the corners was unmistakably Shadow.

“Damn those dark eyes.” 

Wednesday had provided him with a drink as soon as he’d arrived at the bar that first night, and it all went to shit from there. He never was one to turn down a drunken brawl. It didn’t matter who it was, all he needed was for them to make a move. If it so happened that he needed to throw the first punch for them to get going it was nobody’s business but his own. 

Shadow’s fighting style was proper dirty. He wasn’t above sinking shots where he knew they would hurt. Sweeney may be bigger by at least a head, but Shadow’s tactics were calculated while Sweeney lived up to his name, and well, he fought like mad.

He could feel the remains of their brawl under the newly sustained injuries from the crash. Sure, there were a few spots on his face that he could feel the breeze hiss against open wounds caused by shattered glass. He wasn’t focused on that though. He focused on the thumb he dislocated at the base when he threw a hasty, poorly formed punch. He focused on the tight pressure of the deep bruising that radiated up from the center of his back where he had been thrown against the bar. He focused on Shadow, and when he took a deep breath, he focused on that damned lucky coin instead. 

Nature had appeared to restore its course. Dead wife was, as he hoped and expected, right dead at his feet. The coin winked at her side, just out of reach of her outstretched hand. It didn’t take much thought to pass her by and scoop the coin up between two long fingers. The heat of the gold on the delicate skin of his palm was a familiar heat that had been missed. The warmth was paired with a new, even more distinct sensation. 

He was nearly blown away by the distant light that seemed to erupt from the earth before him, and a faint trail wound down the road ahead until he could no longer follow it with his naked eye. It was breathtaking. Whatever the light was indicating, he could feel it vibrating under his skin. Without sparing a glance behind him at the wreckage he’d crawled from, Mad Sweeney started on his path down the road again. He nearly prayed to the fucking gods in hopes of finding the next closest town sooner rather than later.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another shorty and another day in pursuit of something new.
> 
> More soon <3

The persistent ache in his wrist pushed him forward. He couldn’t very well go around with separated cuffs hanging off each hand. He was lucky the damn things didn’t cut off his circulation. It would’ve been fine if they hadn’t been so fuckin’ tight. The metal felt like it was grating against his bones. 

He wondered if he wasn’t above gnawing away at his own flesh like a rabid dog in the attempt to find some comfort since walking to the next town didn’t seem to be providing any semblance of success. The only thing that took his mind away from that disturbance was the new light. If he were around other people he might bestow upon them the information that he’d found the fucking like of his life just to make himself laugh.

As the night rolled in and the sun tucked itself away the light seemed to wane with it. Somehow it held a different significance other than the ending of the day. Sweeney wasn’t sure how he knew, but he could feel that in his bones too. He caught a glimpse of the fluorescent haze of civilization just in sight and let out a breath of relief. Hopefully a car would be his next step. 

Living as long as he had, he couldn’t ignore the value of a good vehicle. In his early days his travel was limited by the distance a man could travel on foot. His domain was small though prosperous. As time passed by he experienced a wealth of new technology. In the generations following the introduction of the domesticated horse things changed greatly. He could remember a night where a small family, only one child to aging parents, had left him a loaf of bread and the reigns to a beautiful mare. She became his companion for many years to come and he owed the family much gratitude. As the anniversary of his reception of her passed each year he would return to the family and leave three gold pieces outside on their doorstep in a single stack.

He would ride off with his mare as far as he could while no one was looking. Using human transport became the norm for people like him as his memory creeped upon present day. His was no longer the king he once felt he could claim the title of. The people that remembered the lore and the gifts were few and far between. It became much less dangerous for gods and other creatures to show their faces in crowds of human civilians. 

Sweeney could remember the feeling of sitting in his first modern-made, mass-produced vehicle like it was only yesterday, not nearly a century ago. It was one of the first Ford Model T’s to roll onto the market. He had lived an interesting life as his people had found themselves more established in America. The occasional grandparent would tell as many kids that would listen that the leprechauns were with them in the new land and were just as hungry as they were before they left the homeland. By the nineteen hundreds he was thriving. The population of Irish in America was booming. When he sat in that car he was dressed to the nines. Hell, he even had a top hat on in an attempt to channel a bit of the old style that was getting phased out before his eyes. 

The wheels were thin as a rail, but they were moving on their own. There was nothing in front of him but the engine moving him along. He could think of few moments where humanity had made him feel something so strong. This was something he could love. 

Not too far into the town he stumbled upon was a used car lot. With his lucky coin in pocket he needn’t worry about the time of night or the locks on doors. He made his way inside the dealership and browsed the rack of keys hanging on the wall behind a raised desk. He ended up going with a black dodge charger. It would blend in enough but allow him to have a hell of a time while doing it. Before he left, keys in hand, he plucked a single coin from the air and left it on the counter. It was the least he could do. 

He didn’t get very far down the road before finding a spot he deemed secluded enough to call his place of rest for the night. With the seat reclined back as far as it could go, Mad Sweeney began to fade off into his dreams. His mind swam between dark, long fingers and calloused palms, and around strong shoulders. He slipped his own arms around a thick torso and grasped at the tight skin of a toned back. His fingers reached for the back of a head at a height that others would find too tall to caress. He did all he could to make them one, and it felt damn good.

His dream state gave him heated euphoria. It was a completeness he hadn’t felt in over a millenia. His dreams gave him the potential of worship and what it would be to worship another. They were out there and they were worthy. He need only find them.


End file.
